In the News

From 1914 to 1920, thousands of men who immigrated to Canada from Europe were called 'enemy aliens' and sent to internment camps during the First World War. Some families were imprisoned as well. Sandra Semchuk explores that dark period in our history in her new book, 'The Stories Were Not Told: Canada's First World War Internment Camps' -- inspired by a stop at Castle Mountain near Banff. Sandra joined host Doug Dirks in studio.

Mark Minenko is a PhD (Law) candidate at King’s College London. His thesis topic is civilian rights during war and conflict, more specifically how emergency powers legislation during the First World War affected civil liberties in the United Kingdom and Canada. He was a Canadian barrister and solicitor for more than 30 years, served in the Canadian military reserves for over 36 years, including service in Bosnia as the assistant to the NATO Political Advisor during the NATO to EU transition period, and worked in government in legislative drafting and policy development. He was also a Member of the Legislative Assembly in Manitoba and he became a footnote in Parliamentary history in 1988 as the first member from the Opposition to be elected as a Speaker or Deputy Speaker in the Commonwealth.

News & Events

Events

Mark Minenko is a PhD (Law) candidate at King’s College London. His thesis topic is civilian rights during war and conflict, more specifically how emergency powers legislation during the First World War affected civil liberties in the United Kingdom and Canada. He was a Canadian barrister and solicitor for more than 30 years, served in the Canadian military reserves for over 36 years, including service in Bosnia as the assistant to the NATO Political Advisor during the NATO to EU transition period, and worked in government in legislative drafting and policy development. He was also a Member of the Legislative Assembly in Manitoba and he became a footnote in Parliamentary history in 1988 as the first member from the Opposition to be elected as a Speaker or Deputy Speaker in the Commonwealth.

Edmonton, AB — University of Alberta Press has published an important new book by Sandra Semchuk, a photographic, text, and video artist, and the winner of a Governor General's Award in Visual and Media Arts (2018). Semchuk will be touring Canada in the coming months to create a discussion around The Stories Were Not Told: Canada’s First World War Internment Camps.

Please click here for the press release for dates of cross-Canada tour.

THAT NEVER HAPPENED - Canadian Screenings

We're excited to announce the theatrical release of THAT NEVER HAPPENED in select cities across Canada over the course of the coming weeks.

We'd love it if you would share these screenings with your friends and family! The screening information and Facebook events for each of the cities is below as well as the films' social handles so you can post online and let us know you're coming. For those unable to attend the screenings, the film will be available for digital download on November 13th on iTunes and Google Play in Canada.

Calgary, AB
Tuesday, October 23rd - Globe Cinema, 7pm & 9pm
*Ryan Boyko will be in attendance at both screenings with Q&A's
Tickets will be available for purchase at the theatre. www.facebook.com/events/324368315030225/

Saskatoon, SK
Friday, November 9th - Roxy Theatre, 7pm
Saturday, November 10th - Roxy Theatre, Matinee**
Sunday, November 11th - Roxy Theatre, Matinee & Evening**
*Ryan Boyko will be in attendance at the Friday, November 9th screening with a Q&A
**Specific timing TBD, check Roxy Theatre website closer to screening.
Tickets will be available for purchase at the theatre. www.facebook.com/events/270750470221992/

Regina, SK
Saturday, November 10th - Rainbow Cinema, 6:50pm
Sunday, November 11th - Rainbow Cinema, 6:50pm
*Ryan Boyko will be in attendance at the Saturday, November 10th screening with a Q&A
Tickets will be available for purchase at the theatre. www.facebook.com/events/524247431335298/

Edmonton, AB
Friday, November 9th - Metro Cinema, 9:30pm
Sunday, November 11th - Metro Cinema, 3pm
Monday, November 12th - Metro Cinema, 7pm
*Ryan Boyko will be in attendance for the Monday, November 12th screening with a Q&A
Tickets will be available for purchase at the theatre. www.facebook.com/events/359126938159869/

Fernie, a small community located in BC’s Kootenay region, emerged from the First World War with multiple controversies that threatened to tear their community apart. Just over a hundred years later, Wayne Norton chronicles the trials and tribulations of the BC city in his book Fernie at War: 1914-1919. The British Columbia Historical Federation awarded Norton with the Community History Award which recognizes local and community history.

The public is invited to Norton’s presentation at the Greater Vernon Museum & Archives (3009 32nd Avenue) for a concise and in-depth presentation on Fernie at War and history pertaining to Vernon on Saturday, October 6, 2018 at 1 PM. Admission is by donation. Space is limited. Pre-registration required (Call 250-542-3142). All are welcome. Books will be available for sale & signing.

Fernie at War explores what it meant to live in Fernie during the confusing and divisive years of the Great War and its aftermath. As a resource-based economy with unusually large and varied immigrant populations, and exceptionally high recruitment levels, Fernie was profoundly affected by conflicting impulses of labour, loyalty and ethnicity. Demands for internment of enemy aliens, resistance to prohibition and moral reform, the consequences of natural and man-made disasters, the unprecedented banning of recruitment, and the western labour revolt were all issues that contributed to a war-time experience for Fernie that was more dramatic and more revealing of underlying tensions than that of any other Canadian community.

About the book, Donna Sacuta, Executive Director of the BC Labour Heritage Centre, says “Fernie at War is a fine example of how labour and popular history can be presented in an accessible and highly readable manner...” Wayne Norton is a writer, publisher and historical consultant living in Victoria, BC. He has written extensively on a variety of topics including music of the First World War, historic women’s ice hockey, prairie settlement, public health, and the local histories of Kamloops and Fernie. He is the author of eight books and has published in British ColumbiaHistory, The Globe and Mail, BC Studies and The Vancouver Sun. For more, go to www.caitlin-press.com

Dr. Anton Minkov, Endowment Council member of the Canadian First World War Internment Recognition Fund, will present on Canada’s first national internment operations at the Tommy Douglas Library, 7311 Kingsway, Burnaby, BC on June 10, 2018 at 2:30pm. Hosted by the Bulgarian-Canadian Society of BC.

2018 National SUSK Congress

Dear students, alumni, and community partners,

We have more details to share with you regarding our upcoming Congress in Banff (May 3-6). Scroll down for information about Registration, Flights, Funding, Accommodations, Zabava and other activities.

Flights

SUSK has secured a 10% off flight code with AirCanada: YYE3X3H1

You may use another flight carrier if preferred. Prices tend to skyrocket within five weeks of flying date, so make arrangements by April 27th for the best rates. SmartphoneApplications like 'Hopper' can help determine the best rates and times to book.

Note: Shuttles to the Banff Centre are provided from the Calgary airport. The program begins on Thursday May 3rd (7:00pm) and concludes on Sunday May 6th (11:00am). Commutes to and from Banff can take up to two hours - please allot yourself adequate time between the program and your flights.

Funding

Students flying from Eastern Canada will each be entitled to a $250 bursary to offset flight costs (~$500 if booked within reasonable time).

Students from Western Canada will be provided with $50 each to cover gas costs. We recommend coordinating carpooling with other students.

Further funding may be announced, pending on approval from grant partners.

Accommodations

As part of the conference, delegates and observers are required to stay at the Banff Centre, which charges $185/night ($230 with fees and taxes). We recommend students consider sharing up to 4-people rooms to save costs (there is a nominally higher fee for quad occupancy, but it is overall much more cost-effective).

Students will be assigned to a room following registration, then the Congress Organizer will connect them with the Banff Centre to identify who will be responsible for reserving the room. Rooms have already been blocked off for the Congress.

All students, alumni and community members are welcome to join us at the 2018 SUSK Banquet and Zabava!

The Banquet & Zabava is the concluding evening event at the Annual SUSK Congress. Our event will feature youth leaders from across the country, great food, a stellar band from Edmonton (our friends from Забава у Колі - Zabava u Koli), and an unforgettable evening in the Canadian Rockies.

Pre-Congress

(Optional)

Members and friends of SUSK are organizing a 3 day excursion before SUSK Congress! There are limited spots available. “students will stay at accommodations in Canmore to go skiing, hiking, hot springs, and other local activities in the area before the formal Congress program (evening Thursday May 3).

Costs
Accommodations: $50/night/person (for up to 3 nights)
Sunshine Village lift tickets: $93/day – however likely to be lower with group rates
Food: Costs to be covered by individuals. Some group meals may be planned for Pre-Congress Activities.

If you have any questions, please contact Pre-Congress Organizer Raya Dzulynsky at [email protected].

Vernon Internment Camp Talk & Slide Show

During World War I, Vernon came to the attention of leading politicians in Ottawa, Washington, London, Berlin, and even Vienna. Why? Because of the men, women, and children imprisoned at an internment camp in the town’s north end – subjects of the German and Austro-Hungarian empires, transformed into “enemy aliens” by the outbreak of war. Recent research by members of the Vernon and District Family History Society has brought to light a vast amount of information about the lives of these prisoners and the men who guarded them.

In a half-hour talk and slideshow Don McNair offers some of the highlights of these findings. He also invites the general public to find out if their families, too, have a connection with the internment camp.

A new, richly-illustrated booklet about the camp will be on sale following the talk.

The presentation will take place at the Greater Vernon Museum & Archives Saturday March 3rd from 1:00pm – 1:30pm. Admission for this event is by donation. As space is limited, pre-registration is required. To pre-register or for more information please call 250-542-3142, visit www.vernonmusuem.ca or find us on Facebook.

This research was made possible by a grant from the Endowment Council of the Canadian First World War Internment Recognition Fund.

VERNON, BRITISH COLUMBIA – The multi-award-winning documentary, That Never Happened: Canada’s First National Internment Operations, will have its Vernon premiere at the Vernon Towne Cinema on Tuesday, February 27, 2018.

The documentary, produced by Armistice Films Inc., recounts the forced internment of thousands of Ukrainians and other Europeans from1914 to1920. The Vernon internment camp was one of the largest and longest opened, one of only two that held women and children. Local residents are featured in this documentary including, Andrea Malysh, Lawrna Myers, Charolette Hanaghan and Michele Loughery.

The Vernon Premiere, a presentation of the Vernon & District Family History Society, reveals how public records were destroyed in 1954. Three decades later, researchers began the task of stitching together the story of this dark chapter in Canadian history.

That Never Happenedhas met with critical acclaim at film festivals across North America. It has garnered 1 nomination and 6 Awards: 4 Awards in the Best Documentary category and THE PEOPLE'S CHOICE AWARD at the Bay Street Film Festival.

The Vernon Premiere is being presented by the Vernon & District Family History Society. There will be a Q & A opportunity after the film with Producer/Director, Ryan Boyko followed by a VIP Wine and Cheese Reception. (All included in the ticket price.)

That Never Happened:
Canada's First National Internment Operations
Saskatoon Premiere
Roxy Theatre
Winner of 6 International Awards

"We believe this is some of the best and most timely work that has been made this year. This is some of the best Directing we have seen, and it is Ryan Boyko's feature directorial debut...."
~Tracey Adlai, Director, Valley Film Festival Los Angeles

THAT NEVER HAPPENED reveals the story of Canada's first national internment operations between 1914 - 1920, when over 88,000 people were forced to register and more than 8,500 were wrongfully imprisoned in internment camps across Canada, not for anything they had done but because of where they came from. In 1954, the public records were destroyed and in the 1980s a few brave men and women began working to reclaim this chapter in history and ensure future generations would know about it.

For Tickets Click or call:
Adrian 306-220-8967 or Nykola 306-514-3143

You are invited to the Toronto Premier of That Never Happened: Canada's First National Internment Operations
by Ryan Boyko
That Never Happened reveals the story of Canada’s first national internment operations between 1914–1920, when over 88,000 people were forced to register and more than 8,500 were wrongfully imprisoned in camps across Canada, not for anything they had done but because of where they came from. In 1954 the public records were destroyed, and in the 1980s a few brave men and women began working to reclaim this chapter in history and ensure future generations would know about it. The Toronto premiere will be followed by a Q&A with the director and team behind the film.
Tuesday, December 12 2017 at Hot Docs Ted Rogers Cinema, Toronto, ON
6:30 PM: Doors Open 7:15 PM: Screening
For more information, please email [email protected].

You're Invited to experience Banff like you've never experienced it before at the Rocky Mountain Premiere & Reception for "That Never Happened".

On the site of the former internment Camp at Cave and Basin. Between 1914 and 1920 over 8500 people were wrongfully imprisoned in Canada. Many were imprisoned in this location. The Banff Cave and Basin museum is featured in the documentary and will be both a spectacularly beautiful and eerie setting for the multi-award winning Documentary.

The Rocky Mountain Premiere will be an intimate, star-studded and VIP event hosted by Armistice Films Inc. and The Canadian First World War Internment Operation Recognition Fund, with Dignitaries in attendance.

Meet the Director Ryan Boyko, Producer Diana Cofini and key Protagonists of the film, which has taken home critical acclaim as well as People's Choice awards from across North America!

This will be a very special and unique evening with the Screening followed by a Q&A and an elegant wine and cheese reception.
Spaces are limited.

The book launch of Bohdan Kordan’s No Free Man: Canada, the Great War, and the Enemy Alien Experience will take place at the Ukrainian Federation Hall, 405 Ave, Fairmount O, Montreal, QC on Thursday, March 23rd at 7:00 pm. The launch is part of a national speaking tour that will include presentations in Toronto, Montreal, Edmonton, Winnipeg, Calgary, Victoria, and Ottawa.

Approximately 8,000 Canadian civilians were imprisoned during the First World War because of their ethnic ties to German, Austria-Hungary, and other enemy nations. Although not as well-known as the later internment of Japanese Canadians during the Second World War, these incarcerations played a crucial role in shaping debates about Canadian citizenship, diversity, and loyalty. Tracing the evolution and consequences of Canadian government policy towards immigrants of enemy nationality, No Free Man is a nuanced work that acknowledges both the challenges faced by the Government of Canada as well as the experiences of internees and their families.

Bohdan Kordan gives particular attention to the ways in which the political and legal status of enemy subjects configured the policy and practice of internment and how this process – magnified by the challenges of the war – affected the broader concerns of public order and national security. Placing the issue of internment within the wider context of community and belonging, Kordan further delves into the ways in which wartime turbulence and anxieties moulded public attitudes towards the treatment of enemy aliens. He concludes that Canada’s leadership failed to protect immigrants of enemy origin during a period of intense suspicion, conflict, and crisis. Framed by questions about government rights, responsibilities, and obligations, and based on extensive archival research, No Free Man provides a systematic and thoughtful account of Canadian government policy towards enemy aliens during the First World War.

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This project was funded by a grant from the Endowment Council
of the Canadian First World War Internment Recognition Fund.

About CFWWIRF
The Canadian First World War Internment Recognition Fund (CFWWIRF) was established to support projects that commemorate and recognize the experiences of all of the ethno-cultural communities affected by Canada’s first national internment operations of 1914 to 1920.

For more information on the Canadian First World War Internment Recognition Fund contact the Program Manager, Andrea Malysh, toll free at 1-866-288-7931.

The book launch of Bohdan Kordan’s No Free Man: Canada, the Great War, and the Enemy Alien Experience will take place at THE CANADIAN MUSEUM FOR HUMAN RIGHTS, 85 ISRAEL ASPER WAY, Winnipeg, MB on Thursday, February 23rd, 7:00pm. The launch is part of a national speaking tour that will include presentations in Toronto, Montreal, Edmonton, Winnipeg, Victoria, and Ottawa.

Approximately 8,000 Canadian civilians were imprisoned during the First World War because of their ethnic ties to German, Austria-Hungary, and other enemy nations. Although not as well-known as the later internment of Japanese Canadians during the Second World War, these incarcerations played a crucial role in shaping debates about Canadian citizenship, diversity, and loyalty. Tracing the evolution and consequences of Canadian government policy towards immigrants of enemy nationality, No Free Man is a nuanced work that acknowledges both the challenges faced by the Government of Canada as well as the experiences of internees and their families.

Bohdan Kordan gives particular attention to the ways in which the political and legal status of enemy subjects configured the policy and practice of internment and how this process – magnified by the challenges of the war – affected the broader concerns of public order and national security. Placing the issue of internment within the wider context of community and belonging, Kordan further delves into the ways in which wartime turbulence and anxieties moulded public attitudes towards the treatment of enemy aliens. He concludes that Canada’s leadership failed to protect immigrants of enemy origin during a period of intense suspicion, conflict, and crisis. Framed by questions about government rights, responsibilities, and obligations, and based on extensive archival research, No Free Man provides a systematic and thoughtful account of Canadian government policy towards enemy aliens during the First World War.

This project was funded by a grant from the Endowment Council of the Canadian First World War Internment Recognition Fund.

June 25, 2016 at 11:00am
Monashee Mountain Plaque Unveiling

November 20, 7:00pm
Laurier House National Historic Site Unveiling of Bust of Sir Wilfrid Laurier in Honor for his Defense of Civil Liberties in Wartime

Over the past four decades, the topic of wartime civilian internment in Canada has received considerable attention from scholars, activists, former internees, their descendants, and a host of others concerned with raising awareness and, in many instances, seeking redress. The result has been, among other outcomes, a dynamic body of information – both scholarly and popular.

Remarks of Prof. Bohdan Kordan, Prairie Centre for the Study of Ukrainian Heritage, St. Thomas More College, University of Saskatchewan at the official unveiling of the Eaton Internment Memorial Plaque, Hawker, Saskatchewan, 28 October 2014, 11:00 am.

Please find below information on the upcoming internment symposium to be held on 17-18 October 2014 in Banff, Alberta.

Announcing CTO – The One Hundred Plaques Across Canada Initiative

To mark the 100th anniversary of Canada's first national internment operations of 1914-1920, the Ukrainian Canadian Civil Liberties Foundation (www.ucclf.ca) will be unveiling 100 plaques on Friday, 22 August 2014, the 100th anniversary of the War Measures Act.

This initiative, the CTO (“One Hundred”) project, enjoys the financial support of the UCCLF and of the Endowment Council of the Canadian First World War Internment Recognition Fund (www.internmentcanada.ca).
All 100 plaques will be unveiled at 11 am (local time) in Ukrainian, Croatian, Serbian, German, and Hungarian churches and cultural centres, as well as in local and regional museums and other public venues, creating a "wave" of unveilings, moving from east to west, from coast to coast.

Dr Lubomyr Luciuk, the CTO project leader, said: "Beginning in 1994, the Ukrainian Canadian Civil Liberties Association (www.uccla.ca) began placing historical markers to recall the internment operations, hoping to eventually have a plaque at each of the 24 camp sites. We started with Kingston's own Fort Henry, the location of Canada’s first permanent internment camp. Over the course of some 20 years our volunteers and supporters have made sure each internment camp location has been marked. The CTO project builds on UCCLA's foundational work. These plaques will hallow the memory of all of the victims of the internment operations and help educate our fellow Canadians about a little-known episode in Canada’s national history. That fulfils the mandate of the Canadian First World War Internment Recognition Fund and of the UCCLF.

I want to add that this is the first time in Canadian history that any community has attempted to unveil 100 historical plaques from coast to coast at the same (local) time. This couldn’t happen without the enthusiastic support of hundreds of volunteers in 100 communities across the country, from Amherst, Nova Scotia to Nanaimo, British Columbia, and Grand Prairie, Alberta to Val D’Or, Quebec to name but a few. We’re also very grateful to our Patriarch, the two Metropolitans, the national executive of the Ukrainian Canadian Congress, the representatives of the other affected communities and many of our internee descendants, for their help.

We’re calling on people to set aside 11 am (local time) on Friday, 22 August 2014 so that they can join us in witnessing a plaque unveiling in their own community or region. Be there to remember, and to learn."

DISCLAIMER:
The Endowment Council of the Canadian First World War Internment Recognition Fund (CFWWIRF) provides this website as a public service. Material contained within it carries no guarantee of any kind, express or implied. The CFWWIRF does not endorse, recommend or control linked websites and accepts no responsibility whatsoever for their contents or views.